I nodded and continued. “When my great-grandparents found out that Tilly had gotten pregnant with my mother at seventeen, they were furious. When they learned that the father was a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, they threw her out. She left home with a few personal items, a small amount of savings, and the clothing on her back, then traveled south to Florida. Starting from scratch as a single teen mom, she never managed to recover financially.”
Robert shook his head. “It’s astounding the things humans do to their own family.”
“Tell me about it,” I agreed. “My great-grandparents never reached out to my mother, and they have yet to contact me, but it’s not like I want to get to know them anyway after the way they treated Tilly. As far as my grandfather, all I know about him is that he must have been one hell of a magician because of how quickly he made himself disappear once he learned of Tilly’s pregnancy.”
“How about you, Oliva? How did you go from being penniless in Florida to being in San Francisco with a Dewhurst degree? And then how did you go from that to being a decoy for vampires?”
“It was all Tilly’s doing—all of it but the decoy part, obviously. As I got closer to high school, she became obsessed with getting me out of poverty. Education was a priority in our home. She often said,Beauty may get your foot in the door, Olivia, but intellect will keep you there.Her other favorite was, You’ll have your looks temporarily and your brains forever.”
“Not if you’re a vampire,” he smirked.
I laughed. “You have a point.”
“Please don’t take this as patronizing, but one would never guess you grew up in poverty because of how you carry yourself and fit in so well with billionaires. You probably get along with them better than I do,” he said with a grin. “And the way you wore that gown so flawlessly the other night . . . It was like you’d been wearing couture all your life. You were stunning, to say the least.”
I nodded and thanked him. Sure, I was probably blushing a little, too. “Because of her background, Tilly taught me a lot about high society customs and trained me toa-nnun-ci-atemy words. If I used slang or swore, she’d make me repeat the sentence properly. She said it would hinder my success for the rest of my life if I got into the habit of speaking in a low-class manner. I fought her on a lot of it when I was younger, thinking people were more open-minded than she gave them credit for, but from what I’ve seen she was right.”
“Sounds like your grandmother was a smart lady. And she obviously did an amazing job raising you.”
“She did in every way she could. She also made sure I took care of myself physically, which was a necessity, since we couldn’t afford health insurance. It was a complete one-eighty from how I’d lived with my parents, who didn’t concern themselves too much with consequences. Before Tilly, I’d never had rules or a bedtime, and I could eat candy for breakfast or skip bathing for days, if I wanted.” I sighed, thinking how horrible it must sound. I could count on one hand the number of times I’d shared such information with anyone. Maybe it was some kind of vampire magic, but I felt safe opening up to Robert. Compelled to let him in, even. My only hope was that he didn’t think I was oversharing or, worse, trying to elicit pity. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me as a charity case.
“And after Florida, California?”
I nodded. “I’d never been outside of Florida until the day I flew to San Francisco.”
“That must have been quite the culture shock.”
“I was so unworldly. A complete bumpkin,” I said with a little laugh. “I was a nervous wreck going through airport security in Orlando, holding up the line and getting in everyone’s way, not knowing where to stand or what would happen when I walked under the metal detector. The people were so nasty and intolerant that I locked myself in a bathroom stall and cried for a solid fifteen minutes after.”
“Poor Olivia,” he said sweetly.
“Don’t feel too bad. What doesn’t kill you, right? On a positive note, it made me learn faster,” I said. “When I stepped off the plane in California, it was like a different world. Even the air in San Francisco was different, foggy and crisp opposed to muggy. What stunned me most were the people. Everyone seemed to know exactly where they were headed, and they were dressed to the nines. In Pelville, it wastake you timein flip-flops, jean cutoffs, and bikini tops.”
“I can imagine how alone you must have felt,” he said.
Could he? It was difficult to picture such an exquisite man being hard up for company. I nodded. “I was an overwhelmed small-town girl lost in a big, bad metropolis. I remember being in the airport and looking down at my suitcase, thinking how easy it would be to hop on the next flight back to Florida.”
“But you didn’t.”
I shrugged. “I couldn’t bear to think what it would do to Tilly if I returned home a coward. And so I remained in San Francisco, making it my new home. Fast-forward a few years, and I now I’ve got Liz as a best friend and a psychology degree. Plus, a mound of student debt that inspired me to accept the job at Dignitary, which you know.”
“Ah, that pesky debt,” he said. He went quiet a moment, processing the information. He seemed on the verge of saying something but then he stayed quiet.
I checked my watch, seeing that we had plenty of time left. I was about to break the silence, but he spoke up.
“You may find this difficult to believe, Oliva, but you and I come from similar upbringings.”
I peered at him skeptically. “You’re right, I do find that difficult to believe.”
The side of his mouth quirked up in a half-smile.Believe it or not.
“Okay, then, it’s your turn. Tell me everything about this similar upbringing you think we have.”
“I can’t tell youeverything. That would take eons.”
“Let’s start with your rebirth.” I laced my fingers under my chin. “Tell me how you came to be a vampire.”
20
